"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion & the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) A daily devotional especially intended to offer compassion to other challenged parents of kids with special needs. Visit our home page at www.snappin.org!

Monday, November 21, 2016

Seeing the Unseen

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And, "But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back."

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Hebrews 10:38-39 (NIV)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

I can't see it!

Today is a day for straight talk. About faith and what it means to see the unseen. Now, we have lots of practice with the unseen. Your child has unseen

milestones

social skills

attention and other desirable behaviors

sleeping through the night.

That list of unseens has a companion list: my unseen

energy

joy

sense of purpose

full night’s sleep.

Yup! We definitely know what the unseens are. And handling these unseens take up a lot of mental and emotional resources. Downright tiring.

This past week, J’s (18, ASD, SPD) sleep was unseen, as was my energy and good mood. 2:42 am is the witching hour and all the unseens congregated into the hallway as I listened to J race around the house. I faced the ever-present opportunity to entertain the unseens and I confess, their company is very compelling. And depressing. I crave a change of scenery, filled with the unseens that God sees and says are mine: joy, peace, rest, courage, strength… I'd also like to see J meet a few of those developmental milestones and behavior goals! Lord, I want to see.

How do we see with faith’s eyes?

Since sleep was impossible and faith was scarce, I decided to look for ways to change my scenery and defuse the chatter robin my peace. 3 intentions helped that night:

Focus on Love (Gal. 5:6). Faith is expressed through our love. My list of unseens that were fighting for my attention were all connected to my fear of the future and my anxiety about my ability to cope with the stuff that comes my way. The perspective of love (1 Cor. 13) helps me stop listening to the compelling arguments of fear and anxiety, at least for the moment. What does J. need? How do I express God’s love to him right now, at 2:42 am?

Act in Love (James 2:20). Faith shows up as action. What loving, courageous action is needed in this moment? Imagining what God is able to do, through me, as an expression of love, helps me to close my eyes to the unseens. Instead, I see the grace and healing that He can offer to J, through my hands and presence. I imagine God’s immeasurably more and lean into the action I see.

Receive His Love Gift (James 1:2-4). The experience of focussing, imagining and acting as a conduit of God’s love is a gift to me, thrust upon me at 2:42 am. Accepting it as a gift seems to explode the value of the experience, rushing it into all the corners of my being. And my faith grows.

Seeing

Through the eyes of faith, my vision is healed. I see the goodness of God, who woke me up at 2:42 am to show me a little more of His love, demonstrated in His mighty power through me, to J, helping, calming, healing. I see the intentionality of God, knowing what I need to move my heart towards faith and transformation. I see the creativity of God, giving words to share this experience with others. I see the mystery of God being unfolded through a son who is mysterious, yet, if I pay attention and get very still, another magical seed of understanding is deposited in my soul, and I grow.

Thank you, Loving Father, that you are at work in our lives, helping us to see the unseen. You help us to notice the realities that we have embraced and your divine power helps us to deal with their voices and images. You empower us to create your messages and images, in spite of the tumult of those realities, by filling your heart with your love and helping us act in faith. Please God, help us see the opportunities to act in faith, to serve our families and those that you gift us with as we walk with you today.

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All content at Comfort In The Midst of Chaos is the exclusive expression of SNAPPIN' MINISTRIES, INC and does not necessarily represent the views, opinions or positions of any affiliated partner, church or sponsor.